Gloria Musicae’s ‘Too Hot’ is not your mama’s ‘Messiah’

There’s a familiar bromide that advises “if it ain’t broke, don’t break it.”

The people at Gloria Musicae may be unfamiliar, or they may be choosing to ignore it admonition.

On Sunday, the Sarasota-based professional chorus will team with singers and soloists from the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, and professional orchestral musicians from Sarasota to present a reinvention of Handel’s “Messiah.”

Handel’s music is glorious, and it’s been thrilling audiences for centuries. The original version still draws enthusiastic audiences, especially at Chrismastime.

But Gloria Musicae is performing a version titled “Too Hot to Handel.” They describe it as “an exuberant, gospel reinvention of Handel’s classic. They also call it “not your mama’s ‘Messiah.’ ”

It sounds like a risk, messing with something so familiar and beloved, but area audiences are more than open to it. “Too Hot to Handel” is scheduled for one performance, on Sunday afternoon at the Sarasota Opera House, and it was already sold out early this week. If you want to see it, it’s worth checking, though, because sometimes tickets can became available for one reason or another.

“Too Hot to Handel” was created in 1993 by composers Bob Christianson and Gary Anderson from an original concept by Marin Alsop. It takes Handel’s original music from the “Messiah” and transforms it into a jazzy, gospel version, adding added saxophones, electric bass, electric guitar, piano, percussion and a Hammond B3 organ to the orchestration. Soloists improvise and soulfully recreate the oratorio.

Details: 4 p.m. Dec. 11, Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. $30 advance, $35 at the door, $15 students. 941-387-6046, gloriamusicae.org.

This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Gloria Musicae’s ‘Too Hot’ is not your mama’s ‘Messiah’."